


Cassidy's Past

by Ospreyeagle



Series: The Caldecutt Chronicles [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Detectives, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-22 21:39:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7454812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ospreyeagle/pseuds/Ospreyeagle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just something I was going to write for NaNoWriMo, but didn't get to finish. It's a fanfic about my original character, Cassidy and her past. How she becomes Sycamore's lover and how she becomes a full-fledged detective.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

** Cassidy’s POV **

** Flashback **

“What… why?” I cried. “Why do I have to be separated from Émile?”

“Because,” Mom simply said. “Your brother has caused us trouble. You need to be put under a witness protection programme, along with Dad and me.” Her eyes clouded and she said nothing else after that.

Dad was quiet and said nothing. His face was pale and his eyes showed no emotion.

The police lead us to a room.

“We’ll be sending you to Kalos, where you will learn French,” a gruff-sounding officer told us. Smoke billowed from his slowly burning cigarette. “For the next three months, you will be learning French, to blend in.”

“We’ll also be monitoring you twenty-four-seven,” another officer stated monotonously. “For six months. We’ll have an officer standing guard by your new home in Kalos.”

“ _What did my idiot brother do this time?_ ” I thought, hissing to myself.

\---00—

** Present **

“Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,

Dormez-vous, dormez-vous?

Sonne les matines, sonne les matines…”

I must have sung that same  _damn_  song fifty times. I groaned quietly, as so the French teacher didn’t hear me.

Why I had to speak French, was beyond me. Many Kalos inhabitants spoke English, too. I had looked it up in an encyclopedia. I was slowly learning more and more about Kalos.

The teacher then brought in a little bird Pokémon, a Fletchling.

“Fletch-ling!” the bird said happily.

“This is a Fletchling,” the elderly teach started. “It is called ‘Passerouge’ in French. Everyone repeat after me: Passerouge.”

“Passerouge!” everyone in the class stated happily, except me. I was bored.

“The beak is called  _le bec_.” She pointed to the bird’s beak. She then proceeded to tell all the body parts of the small bird.

I sighed. I wished the class was more fun than this!

The bell then rang. Everyone, including me all shouted happily and we left the class, nearly running each other over.

Thank God that that was done!

“Emmaline!” a masculine-sounding voice called out to me.

“Hmm?” I turned around. It was that cute kid that lots of girls talked about. “What is it? Augustine, right?”

“ _Oui, je suis_  Augustine. Emmaline, I was wondering if you wanted to go out  _on un rondez-vous_.”

“What! Why me?” I asked. “Why not someone more beautiful than I am?”

“Why?” the black-haired teen asked. “Emmaline,  _tu es belle_.”

“That means… pretty, right?”

“Oui.” The teen simply nodded. “It does mean ‘pretty’.”

I looked at him and wasn’t sure what to say. I swore my face turned five shades of red. He had a worried look on his face, as if he had said something wrong. Other college students paid us no attention, and continued on their way. I shuffled my feet, trying not to collapse after what I had just heard.

“But…” I started. “Why me? Why not someone else?” I watched an even prettier person walk by. A Dedenne was perched upon her shoulder. “Why not that lady with the Dedenne?”

“No.” He shook his head. “She is not as beautiful as you are.”

“Wow…” I continued to blush. “I’m going to go home now. I’m all done here.” I nodded. “My parents are expecting me any minute. Bye, Augustine.”

“Au revoir, Emmaline.” Augustine nodded.

I turned around and watched Augustine walk off. I sighed. “Well then…” I looked at all the people passing me. They seemed to be in their own world. They were either chatting with others, staring at their school work or just staring off into space; but Augustine by far was the only person in the whole school to even notice me right off the bat. I couldn’t believe someone actually took the time to notice me. It was a weird feeling. “I wonder why he decided to talk to me of all things.” I blushed slightly.

I eventually made it to the outside of the building. Several students crowded around a crosswalk. I watched the light turn red while they all crossed at the same time. They eventually spread out and went their own separate ways.

Augustine appeared to be amongst them. My new home wasn’t that far. It looked as if he were heading in the same direction. Is he a neighbour? I wondered. I ran across the street, barely in time. There was only two seconds left by the time I had made it across.

“Augustine!” I called to him.

“Oh, Emmaline! Bonjour!” he called back.

I eventually reached him after a short burst of speed. “My home is just over there.” I pointed to the southwest.

“I live that way too.” He nodded. “So you live on the same street as me, huh?” he asked, curious. “That’s interesting. Funny how we live on the same street.”

“Ha-ha… yeah…” I blushed. “ _Émile… What should I do?_ ” I thought to myself. “ _W-would you be okay with this?_ ”

“ _Do what’s best in your heart, Cassidy._ ” I swore I heard his voice in my head. “ _I live too far away to care what you do. But always, always know that I will love you no matter_ what  _you do. I have no idea what I will see you again, but if we do, let’s have dinner together, just as friends. Nothing else. Do what you’re want to. I too, have found someone that I love, but will never love her like I love you._ ” I swore his voice continued in my head.

“ _He would definitely say something like this. I wouldn’t doubt it at all._ ” I nodded. “ _But what was that? His voice…? Where did that come from?_ ”

“Emma,  _mon amie_? Are you there?” he asked, snapping me out of my reverie.

“Oh, mm-hmm. Yes, I am here. I’m sorry, I was thinking about something. Want to come to my house for a little while? I got something to… tell you.” I blushed.

Before we could ‘round the corner, I could hear familiar barking. It was Fluffy, coming to greet me, as usual!

“What’s that?”  he asked. “It sounds like a dog.”

“He  _is_ a dog, in fact, he is Fluffy the Furfrou.” I smiled. I whistled loudly and the barking became more loud as he ran faster. “He greets me every day, after school.”

Before I could say anything else, I could see Fluffy was nearly upon us. He stopped just before nearly knocking me down. He sat down and wagged his tail. I knelt down and started to pet his head. Augustine knelt down too, letting him sniff his hand.

“Hmm… what’s that?” He pointed to Fluffy’s left foreleg. It was tiny, but a strange shade of dark red.

“What’s… Huh?” I blinked. “It’s  _red_.” I dabbed my finger into it, sniffing and licking it. This was a technique that Émile had taught me before we moved away. Blood has a unique taste and smell to it. “It-it… it has an iron-y taste to it! This isn’t paint, it’s blood!”

“Not sure why you just licked it, but  _that_ is not good.” He had a strange look upon his face. I could see why.

“I’m sorry I did that, it’s just a natural reaction to see whether it was blood or paint.” I shook my head in shame. “It’s something one of my friends used to do. He wants to be a detective someday. I hope he achieves his dream someday…” I muttered quietly, but he may have heard me. “ _Excusez-moi_.” I turned around and spat it out. “ _Pardon_ , I didn’t want that taste in my mouth in longer.”

“ _Ça va_ ,  _mon Cherie_.” He nodded. “We should figure out why he has blood on his front leg.”

I felt my stomach rumbling. “Crap, so hungry. I usually eat dinner just as soon as I get home, too.”

“You go and get something to eat. I will follow Fluffy.”

“Okay. I’ll be quick.” I turned my attentions to Fluffy. “Fluffy, lead Augustine to where you got that blood.”

Fluffy barked and immediately started to run. Augustine nodded and began to run off to where Fluffy was heading. I quickly walked towards my house, which was less than a block away. I ran as fast as I could, nearly crashing into the front door.

“Emma…?” Dad called out, opening the front door at the same time. “What happened?”

It took a few seconds to catch my breath. “I found blood on Fluffy’s leg. I have a new friend, and he’s following Fluffy at the moment! I need to catch up to him. What have you made for dinner?”

“W-what?” Dad questioned, biting back his snappy attitude.  “ We made  Moules à la Marinière.  Here, I’ll give you some.”

I let myself in as Dad walked off towards the kitchen. I watched him grab a plastic bag and pick up some of the cooked mussel meat. It looked gross but smelled delicious at the same time.

“Where’s Mom?” I asked.

“She went out to get some more fruit and such for us,” he responded.

“Did she take my Vespa?” I asked.

“No. She walked, she wanted to get some exercise.”

“Oh phew, thank goodness.” I sighed as Dad handed me the bag full of mussels. “ Merçi, papa. ”

He nodded and smiled. “No problem. Go on now, catch up to Fluffy and your friend,” he said as he handed me a plastic fork.

“See you,” I said while I walked away quickly. I looked at the mussels. It was vomit-inducing, but it smelled good. I was willing to eat anything at this point. I grabbed the plastic fork, stabbed some of it and shoved it into my mouth. “ W-wow… this is actually really good! ” I thought as I grabbed the keys for my Vespa. I sat down for a few minutes and ate quickly. “ White wine, shallots, thyme, parsley, butter, peppercorns… all of those delicious flavours are there! ”

“EMMA…!” I heard a familiar voice calling out to me.

“Augustine! Over here!” I called out, just as I was starting my scooter.

“There you are!” he called out, racing up to me.

I blushed slightly. “Erm… well this is awkward… want to get on?”

“I can drive anything. I’ll drive it,” he offered. I nodded and got off, kicking the kickstand. “Now you hold onto me instead of the other way around. So it’s not embarrassing.” Despite what he said, he was blushing as well. “Y-you’re arousing me.”

“Just shut _up_ and let me get _on_ , please,” I snapped, embarrassed. He scooted forward, just barely enough for me to fit. I kicked the kickstand. “Which way? How come Fluffy isn’t with you?” I wrapped my arms around his waist.

“He ran off. I have no idea which way he went. I came back to try and tell you,” he stated as we began to move. “I had no idea you had a scooter, but now I’m hoping to find him with it.” He drove fast, but careful enough to avoid people and cars. He wove in between obstacles.

“Holy _sh –_ ” He nearly gave me a heart attack! “ _—it._ You’re scaring the bloody hell out of me! How on earth do you have a license to drive a car, let alone a bloody scooter! I’m going to  kill you  if you wreck it!”

“I know what I’m doing,” he replied crossly, which surprised me.

“Hmph. I hope you are.” I narrowed my eyes, even though he couldn’t look at me. “You’re going over the speed limit…”

“Fine.” I felt the scooter going slower, and eventually coming to a stop. “This is where I saw him last.”

I had no idea where we were, but it was definitely far away from my house. “W-where are we…?”

“This is kind of the outskirts. People don’t really come here that much. It’s mostly houses.”

“Oh, hmm… I see.” I nodded. “Shall we start looking?”

“FLUFFY!” he called out.

“Fluff…y…?” I was about to call out when he appeared from an alleyway. “W-what…”

I heard Augustine gagging.

It had to be the worst site I had ever seen… Fluffy’s face was covered in blood.

“F-Fluffy… t-take us to where you found the blood,” I commanded, scared. Fluffy barked, whining and walking away slowly. “Fluff-y…y… W-what happened?” I was visibly shaken.

“What in God’s name is going on?” Augustine was trying to keep from gagging.

“I-I don’t know, but we need to find out… even though I’m too scared to…”

“I don’t get scared often, but this has me on edge…”

“You’re not shaking… you’re so much br-braver than I am…”

Fluffy whined, sitting on his haunches. He barked, alerting us to whatever we were about to find.

“It-it can’t be…! It’s a body…”

It was a deceased person lying down on the ground. The body was already cold and stiff, no movement. I knew this person was dead for this reason. Blood was encircling the deceased’s mouth.

“He… he was poisoned! I-I have a bad feeling that he was poisoned! Fluffy, we need to take you to a Pokémon Centre, ASAP!”

“Go Emmaline, I’ll find a phone and call the police.”

I nodded. “Okay. Tell them  damn everything , so they don’t suspect us. I’ll be at the police station as soon as possible.” I grabbed Fluffy’s ball. “Return!” I called out as he vaporised into pure energy. “Bye Augustine, be careful.”

“ Bonjour, ma Cherie .” He waved.

I started my Vespa, travelling as quickly as possible. “ Fluffy… I’m going as fast as I can! We’ll make it! ”

\---00—

** In Hoenn **

“I’ve been watching this Cassidy, it’s amazing she hasn’t broken her character and revealed her identity yet. She’s grown in the past few months, her French is improving everyday.”

“C-Cassidy… when I get the chance, I’ll see you…” Émile said to himself. “My friends are looking out for you. The police are looking out for you. Watch out Cassidy, I’ll be a detective soon. When I become a detective, I’ll look for you!”

“You should look for her,” Jake the boss said to Émile.

“I-I will!” He nodded. “Thanks, Jake!”

“We got Kenda watching her. He’ll watch her every move to make sure something doesn’t happen to her.” Jake smiled. “You should be thanking Kenda, no me.”

“Whenever I get the chance to meet him, I’ll tell him thank you, personally.” Tears starting running down Émile’s cheeks.

_ I love you, Cassidy… _


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“W-what was that…?” I felt a strange sensation run through my body. “It felt like when Émile said ‘I love you’ to me…” I sighed as I slowly came to a stop in front of the Pokémon Centre. “At least we made it, Fluffy,” I said as I stepped off my Vespa. I ran as quickly as I could up to the counter.

“How may –” The Nurse Joy started, but I interrupted her.

“I have an emergency! I believe my Pokémon was poisoned!” I shouted. “Please, hurry!”

Nurse Joy simply nodded as I handed her the poké ball. Before I could say anything else, I had remembered I had licked my finger. I collapsed before I could react. It must have been the anxiety of it all.

\---000—

“Pupil response is normal…” I felt a bright light in my eye.

“Ow! Hey…!”

“Sorry honey, we were just trying to see if you’re all right,” Joy said calmly. “We’ve run some blood tests and found a very minimal amount of arsenic in your Furfrou’s blood.”

“A-arsenic…?”

“Yes, arsenic. Where on earth did your Furfrou end up with blood on his muzzle?”

“It’s a bit of a story. My new friend is at the police station right now, telling the police everything that happened. For some strange reason, my Furfrou managed to wander off and find a deceased person. The deceased had blood all around his mouth. I suspected this man had been poisoned. Well, I guess I was right…” My eyes clouded with worry. “The police should be here any second now, since I was there with my friend.”

“We need to keep Fluffy overnight just in case, so we can keep an eye on him.”

“Well, okay. That’s fine with me.” I nodded.

I looked over at Fluffy, whom was sound asleep. I watched the bag of saline slowly dripping rhythmically. He breathed up and down slowly… it was almost hypnotising. I heard him whine in his sleep. “Fluffy… It’s okay. I’m here now.” I petted him as he was opening his eyes. He let out a small bark and closed his eyes again. “I’ll wait here until the police… come…” I sat down in a chair next to the bed and instantly fell asleep.

I dreamed of nothing when I woke up, hungry. The sun was shining throughout the room. It was already morning. “Hmm…?” I muttered to myself. I then saw something that surprised me! Augustine was sitting in a chair opposite of me, sleeping as well.

“Augustine…?” I slowly stood up. He was sound asleep. I watched as his chest rose and fell gently. I then noticed something odd, because Fluffy was missing. “Where’s Fluffy?” I mumbled. I felt my stomach rumble again. “ _I guess I need something to eat before doing anything else._ ” I decided to leave the room. I could hear talking as I was walking down the hall. I walked towards the sound of the talking, which wasn’t too far from where I was standing.

“Hello?” I said while entering the room.

There were two officers sitting in the room. The first one was tall, with dark blue eyes, pale brown hair and a small moustache. He was wearing a white undershirt, with a dark grey vest with white cuffs. Sunglasses were perched upon his forehead. He adjusted his dark blue tie when he noticed I was there. “Are you Emmaline, right?” he asked me. He had no Kalosian accent, which surprised me.

“Ah, we’ve been waiting for you,” the second officer said. He had a short build with long legs and arms. He had black hair, green eyes and a beard. He was wearing a light grey undershirt and black vest and a pink tie. He had a large scar across his forehead, and made an attempt to hide it with his bangs. It looked serious. He had a slight accent, but it wasn’t Kalosian.

“I’m _Inspecteur_ Logan Kenda, and this is _Inspecteur_ Amaud Delcroix.”

“Nice to meet you, young lady.” Amaud nodded.

“Kenda… Delcroix. I’m Emmaline, nice to meet you.” I bowed slightly. I then noticed they were eating donuts. “I’m starving, haven’t eaten since last night.”

“Come and join us,” Kenda offered. He stood up and pulled a chair out for me.

“Thank you.” I nodded and sat down.

“You’re welcome.” He smiled. “Cassidy…” he whispered. He quickly got up and shut the door before I could answer.

“W-w…what? How did you know my real name?” I whispered.

“We were sent by Jake Thompson to check on you,” Delcroix whispered.

“More importantly, your friend, Émile is in on it too. He says once he becomes a detective, he’ll come and find you. He wants you to be proud of him.” Kenda smiled.

“B-but… I’m already proud of him.” I felt a tear fall down my cheek. “So this was his idea, huh?”

“Yes, it was,” Delcroix replied. “We will make sure you’re safe. Kalos in particular can be dangerous at times. We have an office right beside your home.”

“So… you’re the officers that are looking out for my family, huh?” I asked quietly.

“Yes,” the both said in unison.

“I’m sorry it’s a lot to take in. I hope you’ll get used to our presence.”

“Of course, Delcroix. It’s nice knowing I have a saviour across the street.” I smiled.

“You may call me Amaud, if you’d like.”

“You can call me Logan. Most people know me as Logan anyway.”

“Okay. I’ll call you that from now on.” I nodded.

Logan got up and opened the door, which signalled to me they were done talking about secrets.

“Emma…?” Augustine walked in, rubbing his eyes. “Oh, there you are. Who are they?”

“These are _Inspecteurs_ Kenda and Delcroix, respectively,” I replied, pointing to them.

“Nice to meet you,” Logan said happily. “You’re Augustine, right?”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Amaud smiled.

“Likewise, Kenda and Delcroix. I am Augustine Sycamore.” He bowed slightly.

“The Professor’s son, huh?” Logan asked. “We’ve heard about you and your father. Both of you guys are doing amazing work. One step closer to finding about mega evolution.”

“We hope we can solve it someday…” Augustine mused.

“I’m sure you can!” Amaud encouraged him. “Just don’t give up!”

Augustine chuckled slightly, somewhat flattered. “ _Merci._ ”

“No problem,” the two said in unison.

“Come and sit, Augustine,” I said happily. I scooted a chair out for him. He smiled a thanks and I nodded in return.

Logan scooted a box of donuts closer to us. I smiled and took a huge bite. The sweet glaze instantly melted into my mouth. I was hoping it didn’t have gluten in it. Augustine noticed the strange look on my face.

“Is there something wrong, Emma?” he asked.

“These…. Have no gluten, right?”

“W-what? What is that supposed to mean –”

“Augustine, I have coeliac disease! If I eat the smallest amount of anything with gluten, I get sick…”

“She’s right. We have to be careful what kind of donuts we buy,” Logan warned Amaud.

“My parents make bread out of quinoa and rice for me, because they know how much I’m allergic to it.” I sighed, feeling hopeless. “I was acting out of impulse, and was starving too.” I felt my stomach go haywire.

“It’s okay, Emma. There was no way to know if there’s gluten in donuts anyway,” Amaud said while nodding.

“Woof, woof!” I heard the familiar barking of Fluffy.

“There’s Fluffy!” I grinned. Fluffy ran towards me and jumped into my arms. He laid his head down onto my shoulder. “Such a good boy, Fluffy!”

“Looks like he recovered well after his ordeal with the accidental arsenic poisoning.” Augustine smiled. The two _Inspecteurs_ said nothing, but smiled as well.

“Indeed. But him being on me doesn’t really help my stomach that much. Fluffy, off please,” I commanded. He immediately jumped off me and sat down on the floor, expecting some sort of treat. I grabbed a piece of a donut and gave it to him. He barked happily after swallowing, and calmed down.

“He is a good Pokémon, Cassidy. He seems well-trained,” Logan commented. “Except when he seems excited,” he added.

I chuckled slightly. “That’s just the way he is. I got him when he was itty bitty puppy.”

“That’s exciting, I bet!” Amaud grinned. “I have a Pokémon too, he lives at home though, because my job is too dangerous for him.”

“And mine live at the office. I have a Delphox. He helps me with certain cases, when he cooperates with me.” Logan sighed.

“We can’t use him _too_ much. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have a job,” Amaud said sarcastically.

“That’s true. I want my job as long as I can.”

“Delphox is a neat Pokémon. Can I check it out sometime, whenever is convenient?” Augustine aseked.

“Of course. Anyways, can I ask you about what happened last night?” Logan asked while grabbing a pen and paper. Amaud got up and closed the door. I was surprised they weren’t interviewing me at their own office.

“How come we aren’t at your office…?” I asked. The two stared at me like they had seen a ghost.

“We… we were sabotaged…” Logan said with nearly no emotion. This lack of emotion startled me.

“W…what…?” I sputtered.

“Circumstances beyond our control happened in our office…” Amaud stared at me.

Before I could say anything else, the two started laughing so hard.

“This _is_ our office, Emma!” Logan was nearly choking.

Augustine was sniggering too. “You _fell_ for _it_ , Emma!”

“I thought this was a Pok –”

“It is, you’re right, but we’re doing renovations at our office. We can’t do anything there at the time being. There’s banging, nailing, sawing…” Logan shuttered.

“We can’t concentrate with all the noise anyway…” Amaud sighed.

“So that’s what you meant by circumstances, huh?” I felt confused. “What the _bloody feck_ were you thinking, pulling off some sick joke, huh?”

“Sorry, Amaud and I like to joke around when times get tough.”

I sighed, feeling hopeless. “Well, I forgive you guys…” I said as they both nodded. “Hang on. I really need to go…” I felt my stomach doing flips. “Remind me _not_ to eat anything with gluten!” I called as I ran out of the room.

When I got back, they started to interview us about what happened that night.

“And that’s all I have to say… we stumbled upon him by accident,” I stated calmly. “It’s the first time seeing a body, but I was well aware of what to do, too.”

“We got the autopsy results. Emma, you were right: he was poisoned, by arsenic.” Logan was looking at a piece of paper. I knew what it was: an autopsy report.

“An autopsy report, huh?” Augustine asked.

“We can’t say anything more than Emma was right about the way he died. We can give you more details after the case closes.” Amaud looked at us sternly. “You two are free to go, since we have your statements now.”

Augustine got up from his chair and carefully pushed it in. I didn’t feel good and didn’t feel like moving. “Are you okay, Emma?” he asked.

I slumped back into the chair. “I’m sorry… don’t feel good.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Logan commented.

“Here, I’ll help you up.” Augustine reached out his hand. I grabbed it and he pulled me. His grip surprised me. “I used to lift, with ease, 60 kilos. I can carry you to your scooter, if you’d like.”

“I would love that…” I said tiredly. “It was nice meeting you. Let me know if you ever need me again.”

“It was nice meeting you guys. I’d be happy to help, even if I’m not really a detective. I hope we can meet again.” Augustine bowed slightly.

“Goodbye!” the two said in unison as we left.

Augustine tried his best to look at me after we left the room. “How are you holding up?”

“I… I feel sick. I need some medicine, just something. I don’t care what at this point.”

“Surely most of it… has passed, right?”

“I ate three donuts. I think it’ll take a while for it to ‘pass’.”

“I’m allergic to latex… it’s not a food, but still. I have to be careful when wearing gloves.”

“My friend is allergic to shellfish. He can’t even smell it or he’ll go into an anaphylactic shock.” I sighed. We finally made it to my scooter. He carefully set me down towards the back of the seat. He carefully sat down in front of me. I wrapped my arms around his waist.

“I’ll go slow… just for you, Emma…” he mumbled to himself, but I heard him.

“Augustine, I appreciate that.”

“Mm-hmm,” he muttered as he started the engine. Instead of stomping on it like he did before, he slowly pushed his foot on the pedal.

\--000—

“Emma… wake up.” I felt a poke on my shoulder.

“Hmm…?” I muttered. I didn’t realise I had fallen asleep, but what I didn’t know is, I ended up in my own _bed_!

“You fell asleep for a while. I carried you all the way up here.” 

“W-… why am I in my own bed, Augustine?”

“Like I said, _I_ carried _you._ You fell asleep, you silly twit.”

“Ugh… why does it feel like I have a hangover?” I rubbed my head.

“I’ll get you some water, _d’accord_?”

“Yes… I mean _oui._ ” I mentally sighed. I was already bored of French. It was making my headache worse. I slowly got up out of my bed, stretching.

“I need to get back to my home now,” Augustine said while walking back into my room. “My father is expecting me back for dinner here in twenty minutes.” He looked at his watch.

I nodded. “All right Augustine. Be careful now.” I felt a blush creep upon my face when he kissed me on the cheek.

“ _Well that was fast, but whatever!_ ” an imaginary Émile’s voice said to me. “ _What are you doing Cassidy, just go on for a full on kiss!_ ”

I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in closer. “Just kiss me,” I stated sternly.

He had a look of shock on his face, but he kissed me on the lips. “I love you, Emma,” he said under his breath.

“I-I love you too…” I mumbled.

His face was red as a cherry as he stumbled backwards a little. My reaction must have surprised him. “I-I need to get going now, Emma. _Excusez-moi._ ”

“Goodbye.” I nodded and watched him walk off.

I sighed and then noticed the cup of water on the table. “Huh. I didn’t even notice that.” I slid off my bed and took the cup. I took a swig and started to drink it. I then walked to through the hall, noticing my parents were gone. I walked to the living room and sat down. I proceeded to turn on the TV, and much to my surprise, there was an opera that was going to be playing on one of the local channels.

“Huh. Never seen an opera before,” I muttered to myself. “I wonder if Dad has seen this channel before,” I asked, rhetorically.

I watched as several people made it across the stage, setting up the scenes. There was now a countdown: five minutes left before the start. I noticed the orchestra was starting to practice and tune.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

The curtain closed and the orchestra started to play a beautiful overture. One that I recognised.

“Huh,” I uttered.

A few minutes passed, and the main character, Jose enters the second scene. I had to do a double take. “What the…?” I muttered. “That son of a bitch! No wonder he was in a hurry to leave! Augustine _is_ freaking Jose!”

“ _Une jolie fille…?_ ” Augustine said in a perfect tenor.

My jaw dropped. His pitch was so perfect. He didn’t even falter. It made me wonder how long he had been doing this. He didn’t even seem like a tenor! “Amazing!” I wasn’t sure what to think.

\--000—

I couldn’t help but to clap, after it ended, even though he couldn’t hear me.

“Emma!” I heard my dad call to me. I didn’t even hear them come in.

“Dad. Is that you?” I called out, walking quickly down the hall.

I noticed they were both dressed up, as if they had just come from the opera, but I doubted they knew about it. Mom was wearing a beautiful blue dress with silvery sequins and a hat with beautiful periwinkle flowers, which appeared to be real, pinned to the fabric of the hat. Dad was wearing a white button-up shirt, with a dark red tie, and over his shirt, he was wearing a dark blue tuxedo with a white carnation boutonniere.

“Hello Emma!” Mom said happily, smiling.

“Where have you been?” I asked as they both hugged me.

“You don’t remember, do you? Think, honey.” Dad tapped my head with his right index finger.

“Hey!” I rubbed my head where he had tapped me. “Wait… It’s your anniversary, right?”

“ _Oui,_ ” Dad simply said. “I can’t believe you forgot. Then again, your new friend dropped by earlier, and carried you to your bed.”

“…And you let him?” I asked, shocked.

“He told me he was a doctor,” Mom replied, mystified.

I slapped my face with my hand. “Mom… he isn’t a doctor, as far as I know. He’s a student scientist studying Mega Evolution.” I sighed. “Yes. I know he wears a lab coat, but _still_ …”

“Oh… what a little liar, huh?” Dad teased. “No worries. I can tell you like him, though.”

I felt a blush creep upon my face…

_Did I like him, or really, really like him?_

 


End file.
